Save time in the kitchen

Gary Wentz

Gary Wentz is a Senior Editor at The Family Handyman.

For me, kitchen
time is wasted
time. I want to get the job
done, get out and get on with
life. So I designed these projects
to give you efficiency, easy access
and effortless organization. If you’re
like me, you’ll appreciate the time
savings. If you’re not like me—if you
actually enjoy your kitchen—you’ll
love the projects even
more because cooking
will be more convenient.

What It Takes Time: 1 to 4 hours,
depending on the projectCost: $10 to $50 if you
have to buy all the
materials. If you have
some wood scraps lying
around, most of these
projects will cost less
than $10.Skill level: Beginner
to intermediateTools: Drill, sander, table saw

Drop-down tablet tray

Keep your tablet handy—and safe

Drop-down tablet tray side view

The shelf folds up against a plywood top.

Drop-down tablet tray exploded view

Aluminum arms hold the tray in position.

This tray will keep your tablet computer off the countertop. As it swings down, it
also swings forward, so the tablet isn’t hidden under the cabinet.
The mechanism is simple; just make and position the arms exactly as shown
here and it will work smoothly. I cut the aluminum parts and rounded the corners
with a grinder. When closed, small cabinet door magnets hold up the tray.
I clipped the plastic ears off the magnets and glued the magnets into place
with epoxy. The liner in the tray is a foam placemat cut to fit. Don’t worry, small magnets won’t harm your tablet; it actually contains magnets.

Rollout drawer for lids

Rollout drawer hides your lids

You can mount a drawer for pot lids under your pot shelf—or under any
other cabinet shelf. Before you remove the shelf, put some pencil marks
on it to indicate the width of the cabinet opening at its narrowest point
(usually at the hinges). Your drawer front and slides can’t extend beyond
those marks (or you’ll spend hours building a drawer that won’t open).
Then remove the shelf. If it’s made from particleboard, I recommend that
you replace it with 3/4-in. plywood and transfer the marks to the new shelf. If you can build a simple drawer box, the rest will be easy.

Rollout drawer exploded view

Drawer in a drawer

Drawer organization tip

Deep drawers often contain a jumbled pile
of interlocking utensils. My solution is a
sliding tray that creates two shallower
spaces. Make it 1/8 in. narrower than the
drawer box, about half the length and any
depth you want (mine is 1-3/4 in. deep).
When you position the holes for the
adjustable shelf supports, don’t rely on
measurements and arithmetic. Instead,
position the tray inside the drawer box at
least 1/8 in. lower than the cabinet opening
and make a mark on the tray. My shelf
supports fit tightly into the holes, but yours may require a little super glue.

Drawer in a drawer exploded view

Add a divider for upright storage

Organization tip for pans and trays.

Fasten the divider with brackets

Screw two brackets
to the cabinet floor;
one to the face
frame and one to the
back wall of the
cabinet (not shown).

I don’t know why the pan or tray you need is always the one
at the bottom of the pile. But I do know the solution: Store
large, flat stuff on edge rather than stacked up. That way,
you can slide out whichever pan you need. Cut 3/4-in. plywood
to match the depth of the cabinet, but make it at least an inch taller
than the opening so
you can fasten it to the
face frame as shown.
Drill shelf support
holes that match the
existing holes inside
the cabinet. Finally, cut
the old shelf to fit the new space.

Rollout storage panel

Better base cabinet access

Mount the slides

They have to be
absolutely parallel
for smooth
operation. So
place a plywood
spacer between
the drawer
members as you
screw them to
the panel. Screw
the cabinet
members to
cleats.

Rollout storage panel exploded view

Build the rollout storage panel from 3/4-in. plywood

If you know how to mount a slab of plywood on drawer slides, you can take
advantage of all the nifty shelves, hooks and holders sold at home centers. It’s
easy as long as you remember two critical things: First, make sure the drawer
slides are parallel (see next photo). Second, make your cleats thick enough so that the slides will clear
the cabinet door hinges.
(I glued 1/2-in. plywood
to 3/4-in. plywood to
make my cleats.)

To install the panel in
the cabinet, reassemble
the slides. Hold the
whole assembly against
the cabinet wall and
slide the panel out
about 4 in. Drive screws
through the cleats at
the rear, then slide the
panel out completely
and drive screws at the front.

Cutting board storage

Cabinet organization tip

The slickest way to store a cutting board for
instant access is shown in the next tip. But that only
works for cutting boards less than 10-1/2 in. wide.
For larger boards, mount a rack on a cabinet door.
I used a sheet of 1/4-in.-thick acrylic plastic, but
plywood would also work. You can cut acrylic
with a table saw or circular saw as long as you cut
slowly. Knock off the sharp edges with sandpaper.
I also rounded the lower corners with a belt
sander. For spacers, I used No. 14-8 crimp sleeves
(in the electrical aisle at home centers). But any type of tube or even blocks of wood would work.

Cutting board storage exploded view

The crimp sleeves create a pocket for the cutting board.

Cutting board storage parts

The finish washer and crimp sleeve give the holder a clean, attractive appearance. They're available at hardware stores and home centers.

Hidden cutting board

Better organization with magnets

The secret to this project is
“rare earth” magnets. The ones
I used are just 5/32 in. in diameter
and 1/8 in. tall. Browse
online to find lots of shapes
and sizes. Implant magnets at
the corners of your cutting
board and add more if needed.

Make the metal plate under
the cabinet larger than the cutting
board so the board will be
easy to put away. Glue the
sheet metal to plywood with
spray adhesive. Drill holes near
the corners and screw it to the underside of a cabinet.

Magnetize your cutting board

Drill holes sized for the
magnets and drop in a dab
of super glue. Insert the
magnets with a nail head.
Slide the nail sideways to
release the magnet.

Hidden cutting board exploded view

The metal plate grabs the magnets. Make sure you use galvanized steel, not aluminum.

Building notes

The costs for each project
assume you have to buy all the
materials, but if you have wood
scraps lying around, you can cut
those costs drastically.

All the wood projects shown here
are finished with Minwax Wipe-On
Poly (sold at home
centers).

Unless otherwise noted, all the
materials for these projects are
available at home centers.

Several of these projects require
joining 1/2-in.-thick wood parts. You
can do that with a brad nailer, but if
your aim is a smidgen off, you’ll blow
a nail out the side of the part. Trim-head
screws are safer. Their thin
shanks won’t split thin wood (as
long as you drill pilot holes), and
their small heads are easy to hide
with filler (or ignore).

Flip-down paper tray

Pen and paper organization tip

This tray is perfect
for pens and paper.
When closed, it’s
mostly hidden by the
cabinet face frame.
To install the tray,
screw on the hinges
first. Then open the
cabinet door above
and clamp the tray to
the underside of the
cabinet while you
screw the hinges to
the cabinet.

Flip-down paper tray exploded view

Add a shelf

More space for plates and bowls

Most cabinets
come with only
one or two
shelves, leaving a
lot of wasted
space. So I added
one (and sometimes
two)
shelves to most of
my cabinets. All it
takes is 3/4-in.
plywood and a
bag of shelf supports.
The supports
come in two
diameters, so take
an existing one to
the store to make
sure you get the right size.

Instant knife rack

Cabinet door storage

You can size this knife rack to
suit any cabinet door and any
number of knives. To build it,
you just need a table saw and
wood scraps. Run the scraps
across the saw on edge to cut
kerfs. Adjust the blade height
to suit the width of the knife
blades. You have to remove
the saw’s blade guard for
these cuts, so be extra careful.
Also cut a thin strip to act
as an end cap. Glue and
clamp the kerfed scraps
together and sand the knife
rack until the joints are flush.
To mount it, use two 1-1/4-in. screws and finish washers.